Get in the Zone: The Psychology of Video Game Design

The author most likely wrote this selection to...

• Explain how to excel at playing video games.

• Explain the process of video game development.

• Explain why video games are so popular.

• Explain challenges people face when playing video games.

The author includes the section subheading “Challenge” in “Get in the Zone: The Psychology of Video Game Design” to show —

         

• why video games require skill in order to be finished

• why people try to complete tasks in a video game as quickly as possible

• why people purchase so many different types of video games

• why video games increase in difficulty as players become more skilled

What tone does the author create by comparing our brains to backpacks in paragraph 6 of “Get in the Zone: The Psychology of Video Game Design”?

• Conversational

• Humorous

• Encouraging

• Curious

Read this excerpt from paragraph 9 from “Get in the Zone: The Psychology of Video Game Design”. That’s because focus, our ability to pay attention, is like a flashlight beam—it can only shine on one or two things at a time. Based on the cause-and-effect structure used by the author, what can the reader predict will be discussed next in this paragraph?

• What happens when we try focusing on several things at once

• Why there are no effective ways to focus on things

• The reasons people have difficulty maintaining focus

• How focus can be maintained even when doing many things at a time

Which two of the following help the reader predict what the section “Reward” will be about in “Get in the Zone: The Psychology of Video Game Design”?

• The reference to the dragon that was described in the introduction

• The author’s tone toward the ways that games affect players

• The discussion of brain activity in the previous sections

• The sudden shift in the author’s perspective

• The subheading for the section

The author includes the detail about micro-rewards in paragraph 13 in “Get in the Zone: The Psychology of Video Game Design” to explain —

• how game designers reward players for reaching the ultimate goal

• how focus helps to create flow for gamers

• how rewards for small tasks lead to accomplishing big goals

• how the brain produces the chemical dopamine

Read the dictionary entry below for the word focus.

focus \fō´kəs\ n 1. a center of activity 2. directed attention 3. a state or condition permitting clear understanding 4. a point at which rays converge

Which definition most closely matches the way the word focus is used in paragraph 8 of “Get in the Zone: The Psychology of Video Game Design”?

• Definition 1

• Definition 2

• Definition 3

• Definition 4

The author most likely wrote “Get in the Zone: The Psychology of Video Game Design” to explain —

• how to excel at playing video games

• the process of video game development

• challenges people face when playing video games

• why video games are so popular

Read this sentence based on the selection.

By focusing on their task, a state of flow can help video game players win a challenge.

Which revision corrects the misplaced modifier?

• By focusing on their task, a challenge can be won by video game players in a state of flow.

• By focusing on their task, winning a challenge helps video game players reach a state
  of flow.

• By focusing on their task, reaching a state of flow helps video game players win a challenge.

• By focusing on their task, video game players can reach a state of flow and win a challenge.

The author most likely wrote this selection to...

• Explain how video games are designed to engage players.

• Discuss the history of video game development.

• Analyze the impact of video games on society.

• Describe the technical aspects of video game creation.